Rivalry match with Argos figures to be an emotional one in the Armory

Volleyball is an emotional sport, filled with excitement, intensity and plenty of highs and lows. But with the combination of senior night, and the Montana State University-Northern Skylights' biggest rival across the net from them, tonight figures to be even more emotional.

However, as Northern (3-5, 9-14) takes the floor tonight, for the final match of the year in the Armory Gymnasium, head coach Rose Obunaga is going to do all she can to keep her players focused on the task at hand. And that's beating the University of Providence Argos (4-4, 18-8) for a second time this season. Tonight's senior night match starts at 7 in the Armory.

"I personally try not to get emotional," Obunaga said. "When it's senior night, it does get really emotional, and when one of your girls gets emotional, it tends to make them all emotional. So I try not to let that affect me, so I can help the girls stay focused and play their best."

Obunaga will certainly help do that, but there's no denying, things will be intense at the start of tonight's match as Northern honors seniors Cassie Krueger and Kylie Pasieka before the Skylights and Argos take the floor.

Krueger has had an incredible three-year run for Northern, after transferring from Montana State. She's a two-time All-Conference performer and is a candidate for Frontier Player of the Year honors this season, as she leads the league in kills. Pasieka has also been an extremely dependable player for Northern, particularly in the back row. But this season, she's also shown her versatility as she's moved around the floor and played some outside hitter for the Skylights.

But as special as senior night is, tonight's match is a big one as it relates to the Frontier standings. Northern, which trails the Argos by one point, was extremely dominant last month in a three-game sweep in Great Falls, and a win tonight would pull the Skylights into fourth place in the Frontier with three matches left - all on the road.

"I think the biggest thing we did well in Great Falls was out blocking," Obunaga said. "Providence has so many good hitters, even when they sub, that you have to block extremely well, so we'll be focusing on that and in serving tough. Because they have so many good hitters, you have to serve tough to get them out of system. If we do that, we'll have success."

Providence is an outstanding offensive team, with five players who have 100-plus kills. The Argos are led offensively by Sydney Andersen and Korie Milan, while veteran setter Dani Norling really makes the Providence engine go on the offensive side. The Skylights, while undersized, will look to counter that with the blocking of Timi Severson and Mikayla Virostek, as well as the strong back row play of Hannah Amtmann, Pasieka, Ashley Ponce, and the excellent defense provided by Krueger.

Northern also has a big test just 24 hours later, too. The Skylights will turn around and travel to Helena to take on third-place Carroll College (5-3, 13-11) Friday night. Carroll beat the Skylights last month in Havre, and with few matches left in the regular season, Northern is hoping to build some momentum with the two battles it has on tap this weekend.

"We're at a height disadvantage with Carroll," Obunaga said. "They have two very tall girls who, last time we played them, hit right over our blockers. So we have to adjust to that this time. We have to focus on the things we can do to counterattack their height."

But before the Skylights get to Helena, they must get through tonight's emotional farewell to their seniors, as well as their biggest rivalry match of the year. Tensions always run high when Northern and Providence hook up, but with it being the last home match of 2017, tonight's match shouldn't be missed.

"I think the thing I will miss the most are the home crowds," Krueger said. "And the feel of playing in front of fans that truly do care about you."

Tonight's match between the Skylights and Argos kicks off at 7 inside the Armory Gymnasium.